Bad Analogy

Many of your points regarding Mayor Daley's administration are well received, even if at times they suffer from selective statistics and lack of context. The common refrain that corruption and waste are simply the "costs of doing business" must be challenged and subject to critical analysis. The Reader is right to raise these objections in the absence of any real electoral opposition.

However, any merit of the substantive points in the article was thoroughly eclipsed by the opening paragraphs, which make a disgusting analogy to domestic abuse. There are far too many women in this city who are subject to violence in their relationships, and I can assure you that none of them liken their experience to suffering cuts in Park District programs. To make that analogy trivializes a problem that is already not taken seriously enough in our society. I would encourage the Reader to take time to expose the tragedy of domestic abuse instead of flippantly using it as a political prop. Abuse pervades relationships in every neighborhood in our city, and not nearly enough people are truly aware of its scope. The problem of violence against women deserves much more responsible and respectful treatment, and the Reader should take that responsibility seriously.